Future Shock Blog

Minor League Update: Games of July 20

A 22-year-old Dominican who has been slow to develop his tools into skills mostly due to injuries, Almonte is finally healthy and blossoming. After hitting .293/.368/.514 during the first half of the season at High-A Tampa with 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases, with nine hits in his last four games, he's hitting .333 in his first six Eastern League games. He small, but can flash average power at times and decent wheels, but scouts aren't quite convinced he profiles as an every day corner outfielder yet. If he can do at Trenton what he did in Tampa, that could change.

Mat Gamel, 1B/3B, Brewers (Triple-A Nashville): 3-for-5, 2B, R, RBI. Has been playing more third base of late, maybe in desperation for big league gig; he's still awful there, but hitting .331/.397/.581.

Johnny Giavotella, 2B, Royals (Triple-A Omaha): 3-for-5, 2 R. 12-for-21 in last four games and up to .340/.394/.485 overall.

Robbie Grossman, OF, Pirates (High-A Bradenton): 1-for-2, 2B, 3 R, RBI, 3 BB, SB. Up to 84 walks in 95 games; there has to be some value to a .287/.426/.419 line from a 21-year-old corner outfielder in a tough league.

Casey Kelly, RHP, Padres (Double-A San Antonio): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Best start of year as he needed just 48 pitches in the outing.

Brett Lawrie, 3B, Blue Jays (Triple-A Las Vegas): 3-for-5, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI. Was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts in first two games back in Vegas; .349/.408/.660 overall.

Carlos Martinez, RHP, Cardinals (High-A Palm Beach): 1.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 0 K. He's pitched less than 60 innings in the United States and is still far from a refined product; these kind of outings can happen and it's nothing to panic over.

Tyler Matzek, RHP, Rockies (Low-A Ashville): 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 K. The bad news is that he still can't find the strike zone; the GREAT new was that his fastball was 92-95 mph.

D.J. Mitchell, RHP, Yankees (Triple-A Scranton): 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 9 K. Flying under the radar with 3.12 ERA at Triple-A; sinker/slider combination has at the very least bullpen value, but he might work in the back of a rotation as well.

Derek Norris, C, Nationals (Double-A Harrisburg): 2-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K. Back over the Mendoza line with still bizarre line of .206/.368/.416.

Neftali Soto, 1B, Reds (Double-A Carolina): 2-for-5, 2 HR (18), 2 R, 3 RBI, K. He's bulked up to the point where he's a 1B-only type, but with it has come considerable power; 13 home runs in last 26 games and up to .279/.339/.598 overall.

Can we get Minor League Baseball to update their database to show Ronald Torreyes' true height? He's nowhere near 5'9". I'd like to line him up next to Jose Altuve and get true measurements on both of them. With that said, the kid sure can hit!

Good day for brewers young guns. Is this a system that is on the rise again, especially once draft picks are signed(really like the draft the brewers had). Is it conceivable that they have four prospects in the top 100 with bradley, jungman, peralta and thornburg?

Kevin, how would you compare/contrast Gary Brown and Reymond Fuentes? Both seem to fit a similar profile, and may patrol CF for West Coast teams with spacious outfields. Ceiling? Development progress / ETA?